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Latest news from Cancún

The world’s forests are essential to life in all its diversity and to attaining humanity’s biggest goals such as reducing poverty, curbing climate change and achieving sustainable development. Throughout 2011 IUCN will work towards making sure that forests deliver their maximum potential for human well-being and biodiversity conservation. … | Spanish

Governments at the UN climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, managed to approve a series of tangible if modest steps that set up a 'global climate fund' to help poor nations create a mechanism to share clean technologies, protect tropical forests and help the poor adapt to impacts ranging from storms to rising sea levels, says IUCN. … | Spanish

Fast track climate funding for vulnerable mountain communities was announced today by the government of Germany. The programme, to be carried out by IUCN, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), will assess vulnerability among communities and farmers to droughts and floods linked with rising regional temperatures and the loss of glaciers and ice. …

Working with six Pacific Island Governments, IUCN's Energy Programme has been implementing the project "Managing the Ecosystem and Livelihood Implications of Energy Policies in the Pacific Island States". Today in Cancun at the UN Climate Talks, the Italian government which co-finances the project brought together representatives of these six Pacific nations.
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Governments in Cancun need to close a deal on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) and reach an agreement to make it a central part of the new climate agreement. One country that is already working on making REDD a reality in the conference room and also in the field is Vietnam. …

Governments need to put more attention and resources into making sure vulnerable people get their fair share of benefits from REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), according to IUCN. … | French | Spanish

More climate change news

Two of the greatest threats to the natural world - invasive species and climate change – when combined, not only have devastating impacts on the environment but can also cost countries ten per cent of their Gross Domestic Product. In a report, released this week in Nagoya, Japan, scientists are urging countries to take immediate action against the ‘deadly duo’. … | French | Spanish

The islands of the Western Indian Ocean and coastal areas of Eastern Africa are home to 30 million people who rely on their coastal environment for food and income. But overfishing, overdevelopment, pollution, environmental degradation and climate change are seriously threatening the natural resources that fuel the region’s economic activity. A burning question is will the region’s governments and civil society work together to respond to these challenges? …

With only one per cent of the world’s oceans under protection, countries are far behind the 10 per cent target promised for 2010. A greater political will and a change in the way we manage our marine capital are needed now to preserve the Earth’s oceans for generations to come. … | French | Spanish

IUCN scientists were part of a recent expedition, Tara Oceans, to investigate coral bleaching on the reefs of Mayotte, an island that lies to the north west of Madagascar. The team found that bleaching here, which was first reported in March this year, is the worst seen in the Indian Ocean. … | French

There needs to be significant investment to solve the growing water crisis that threatens water supplies and water quality for both people and nature, says IUCN. Climate change makes the search for practical solutions for water management increasingly urgent. The call for increased funding comes as more than 2500 decision makers and leaders from the global water community are meeting in Stockholm, Sweden from 5 to 11 September, for World Water Week, where the theme of this year’s conference is “Responding to Global Changes – Prevention, Wise Use and Abatement”. …

Coastal and marine ecosystems constitute an important, but often overlooked ally in the battle against climate change. Tidal salt marshes for instance make up 1-2% of the overall carbon sink in the USA, but coastal wetlands have often been drained, filled and converted to other uses, such as agriculture. …